The Yellowgate Police in Raigad have arrested Chandrakant Dharmaji Patil (53), owner of the fishing boat Kaushalyacha Ram Shakti, for allegedly stealing batteries, power cables, and other equipment worth Rs 30.4 lakh from Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) offshore platforms in the Arabian Sea.
Patil, a resident of Pen in Raigad district, was taken into custody on Sunday, produced before the court on Monday, and remanded to police custody. He is the second accused in the case, following the earlier arrest of Santosh Krishna Patil (50) on March 11, whose interrogation led to Chandrakant’s name surfacing.
The case was registered at Yellow Gate Police Station after a complaint by Aditya Shankar, senior security officer with ONGC, who reported thefts of battery banks, power cables, and other equipment worth Rs 48.4 lakh from unmanned platforms NLM-10 and NLM-13 in the Arabian Sea.
According to police, Chandrakant confessed that he and his crew used their fishing boat to approach the platforms, survey them during the day, and return at night to steal batteries, solar panels, cables, scrap iron, and fuel. The stolen items were reportedly sold to scrap dealers Anwar, Riyaz, and Kalu alias Amin, with proceeds divided among the gang.
Police stated that the gang had been conducting such thefts for nearly two years, stealing 800–1,000 batteries and other equipment, earning Rs 3–4 lakh per trip. Seven additional crew members are currently wanted. Authorities stressed that custodial interrogation is crucial to recover stolen property, trace the fishing boat, and apprehend the remaining suspects.
